Stranded at Subway - Deuce won't start

Hey everyone. I'm at a class in Niceville, FL and I drove my deuce here from Crestview. It drove fine. I took the deuce to lunch at Subway and parked it on a slight hill, chocked the wheels, and went inside.

I came back outside the truck won't start. When I turn the accessory lever on, the low air warning buzzer comes on, all of my gauges read properly, I can turn my lights on, but when I hit the starter button, it's just a click, and nothing more. The engine doesn't even try to turn over.

What could this be? Is there some quick fix to this so I can get my truck out of the Subway parking lot and back home?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Go check all the battery cable connections from one end (the battery) to the starter. Make sure everything is clean and tight.

Low Battery's. If you got the room let it roll back and roll start it in reverse, make sure you got the engine stop pushed in.

If your batteries have a good charge it is possible the starter solenoid has failed. Been a while since I had my deuce but is it possible to jump the starter solenoid on these with a pair of pliers or something? If I were closer I'd come give you a hand. Unfortunately I wouldn't get there till tomorrow .

If you have jumper cables you can have someone give you a jump. Just put the cable on ONE BATTERY ONLY!!

If it clicks everytime you push the button, id either say a bad connection on the starter relay or a dead spot on the starter. if this is the case, check the cables going to the starter. mine acted funny and turned out that the studs on the relay were lose and i tightened them back up...so far so good!

Try pushing the red start button several times in a row(until it does engage). Sometimes that works.

If the deuce is facing DOWNHILL and you have sufficient room put it in HIGH Range. 3rd gear and try to roll start.....wait till you have the most speed you can pick up before you pop the clutch....make sure switch is on so in tank fuel pump will work.

If the engine will turn over once or twice she will crank.

Good luck.

As doghead said, pushing the starter button a few times can do the trick. after a while, the solenoid gets damaged from the arcing during starting, and has a hard time conducting electricity.

If the starter switch is bad, y9ou can use a jumper wire on the starter relay. It is mounted above the stater on the side of the block.

I have done this on several occassions.

Thanks for all the replies. I've tried pushing the starter button many, many times and that didn't do anything. The truck is facing uphill and the wheels are chocked. It's only about 15 feet away from the road so if I tried to roll start it and it didn't work, I'd be sitting in the road, so I don't think I want to try that.

Got a friend with a 3/4ton or larger near buy they could give you a pull start?

As a freind just reminded me, sometime the brushes in the starter will wearout and cause the starter to not function.

If the jumper wire does work, try hitting the side of the starter with a hammer. It will "jar" the brushes and allow it to turn.

First check your cable connections. Then bypass any starter solenoid problem by shorting the two poles with a screw driver. If it still clicks, then tap the starter housing a few times with a small hammer.

Check the wires going into the red starter button for a kinked or twisted wire. Its easy to remove the button from the dashboard to straighten out any kinks.

I had this same problem with my deuce when I first got it. Turned out one of the nuts on the solenoid was partially stripped and wouldn't tighten down properly. This only allowed partial voltage to get to the starter and it wouldn't crank. Took a while to figure it out, might be your problem. Good luck!!

Looks like it's working now. I called out on my co-workers, a prior Enlisted Officer who used to work on deuces, and he did what Warthog did and used a jumper wire on the starter relay and it fired right up. Should I look into replacing anything at this point?

I still say Its the batterys, one or both. I have had this happen to me befor. Start right up ,ran to the store came back out and there I sat. Some times a batt. will just give up. Do you know how old they are?

try taping the starter gently with a hammer, pliars, wrench, or whatever. I used to have to do this frequently with a truck I owned in a former life.

TheOxman said:

Looks like it's working now. I called out on my co-workers, a prior Enlisted Officer who used to work on deuces, and he did what Warthog did and used a jumper wire on the starter relay and it fired right up. Should I look into replacing anything at this point?

Click to expand...

There is either a problem with the starter relay or the starter switch.